Hycor Biomedical May Move 50 Jobs From Maine to O.C.

Hycor Biomedical Inc. said Wednesday that it is closing a Maine production facility and may bring as many as 50 jobs to Orange County.

Hycor, which makes medical diagnostic equipment, is offering all of the 75 workers at its 70,000-square-foot production facility in Portland the opportunity--and relocation funds--to move to Orange County, said Reg Jones, senior vice president.

Though unemployment is high in Maine, Jones said, he expects only a handful of workers to take up the offer when the plant closes in July. “There’s a big lifestyle difference between Maine and California,” he said. “It’s less attractive to them” to move here.

The company, based in Garden Grove, expects a onetime charge of $800,000 for the current quarter to cover the costs of the plant closing. That will be partly offset, however, by savings of $500,000 because of the consolidation. Jones said the company will break even on the costs of the closure within 18 months.

Hycor obtained the Maine plant in August, 1991, when it acquired its Ventrex lines of allergy diagnostic and immunodiagnostic products. Its operations have gradually been consolidated in Garden Grove. As a result, the Maine plant was underutilized.

Jones said the company will advertise in Orange County to fill any positions that the Maine workers pass up. Those could include professional-level positions as well as quality assurance, marketing and other jobs, he said.

Hycor had 1992 earnings of $3.6 million on revenue of $27.4 million. It now employs about 130 people in Garden Grove.